Monday, January 19, 2015

After such an incredible goal-reaching year, it would be easy for me to conclude that 2015 will be nothing special. I’m hoping that all the hard work during 2014 has created a solid foundation so that 2015 will be a stable, happy year. And that’s why my goals for 2015 are less about new achievements and more about flow.

Let’s talk about flow for a moment. In 2014, Danielle LaPorte’s work rocketed into my world. To hear Danielle speak about, oh, I don’t know, ANYTHING is to stop whatever you are doing and PAY ATTENTION. Because whether you agree or disagree with her, you will feel compelled to listen, to figure out if she’s friend or foe.

I was actually a little miffed by the first interview of hers I heard, one she did with Jonathan Fields. She slams higher education as being a system of right and wrong answers and toots her own horn for having never gone to college. That’s an awfully narrow view of college and one that is not reflective of much of the work that happens in higher ed. (True, a lot of STEM classes have right and wrong answers, but even those fields have plenty of room for creativity and ambiguity.)

I was annoyed by Danielle at first, but I kept listening. Why? Because I had left the realm of right and wrong answers, and I was trying to find my path. Here was a woman who had dedicated her life to helping people find their paths. Her method? Ask yourself just one question:

How do you want to feel?

How do you want to feel? It’s so simple! So simple and yet so…refreshing. Profound. Uncomplicated.

So I listened to all of Danielle’s talks I could find on youtube, then I put The Desire Map on my wishlist. All along, I’ve been asking myself that one question: how do I want to feel?

As a book, The Desire Map is really two books in one: it’s the why and how of desire mapping. I’ve read the why part; the how part is a workbook that I have yet to start in the pen-on-paper sense of the word. But I’m introspective enough to have figured out how I want to feel. Two words: flow and free.

Flow. Flow describes how I want to feel in my personal and professional personal life.

I want to be more easy-going about how neat and clean (or not) our house is.

I want to spend lots of time exercising, on my bike and my two feet.

I want to keep the cash flowing in my life.

I want life to feel easier.

I’m pretty happy with how things are going now. My work is off to a good start for the new semester, I’m renewing my commitment to running, and I haven’t been as stressed out about the state of our house. This month, our roommate Courtney got a great new job, so that will increase our house’s cash flow. For me, flow is about being energized by the things that I want to do.

Free. Freedom can be a hard goal to nail down, given how busy our lives are and how enmeshed we are in relationships that place expectations on us. I’m thinking of “free” in a few ways.

I want to be free to say yes or no.

I want to be free to accept invitations and to spend more time with friends.

I want to be free to learn more, write more, think more.

When you’re a freelancer, it’s easy to feel insecure about the next paycheck because it might not be there. But I’m guessing that the sweet spot of freelancing is to know when the consequences of saying yes outweigh the freedom of saying no. I remind myself that every yes has an opportunity cost: I won’t be free to say yes to something else when it comes along.

I want a great paycheck, but I also want to be me. And I’m a person who needs time away from work in order to be energized and excited for my work.

* * *

You’ll notice that I don’t have any big achievement-oriented goals on my list for this year. It’s not that I don’t have any goals like that; instead, they are embedded within my larger feelings for 2015. I’m still running a half-marathon in February; I still aim to hit 20 billable hours each week. Because my real goal for this year is to feel the way I want to feel, flow and free are deeper goals, more authentic goals. And there are so many ways on a daily basis to feel the way I want to feel—it’s not limited to what I’ve listed here.

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Austin, Austin, Austin! That is the second half of 2014 for me in three words or less. I’m so glad we made our move to Austin this year. Austin has been exhilarating, challenging, and ultimately very rewarding. I remember being jolted upright by the realization that chasing your dreams was, like, A LOT of work. So much work. And yet the hard work of chasing my teaching dreams was easier than delaying them any longer.

Austin gave me a chance to grow. I learned how to live (mostly) peaceably with two roommates after living alone for a decade. I learned how to run my own business. I learned how to combine finances with my partner. And I’m still learning what exactly I need in this new freelancing lifestyle of ours to make it really work for the long haul.

And with that, let’s check out my favorite photos from July-December of 2014. (For Part One of this series, click here.)

* July: July was our last month in College Station. Leaving was a bittersweet experience. I knew that it was time to leave, yet I was sad to see that chapter of my life draw to a close. As much as we all made fun of College Station, it was still our home, and we had a comfortable life there.

The photo above is from an evening at Hullabaloo Diner, legendary for its menu and train-car-turned-diner restaurant space. We played Connect Four while waiting for a table; that’s Paul checking out his next move. I love that photo as a reminder of the fun night we had with friends; we were out celebrating our friend Matt’s birthday, and it was an altogether great evening.

* August: In August, we settled into our new home in Austin, and Paul and I got busy working on our professional websites. I spent much of August studying chemistry and genetics, trying to get ready for the fall 2014 semester. In August, we discovered (via a friend) the riverfront trail that runs along the Colorado River in Austin. The trail quickly became one of my favorite spots in Austin. That’s me on my bike up there in a photo snapped by Paul.

* September: In September, the fall semester started and I worked on marketing our various tutoring businesses. The photo above is from Spider House, a groovy coffee shop near the University of Texas. Courtney and I went on several field trips to advertise our services, including the Austin Writing Shop, and I snapped a photo of the art at Spider House.

* October: October was a crazy-busy month for me, as the semester kicked into full speed and my tutoring schedule filled up. I was so happy to have paid work because it meant I was doing it! I was making a living as a freelancer! It meant I was adding value to people’s lives using my teaching skills.

It was pretty great. But it was HARD, too, in ways that I could not appreciate until I started doing it. I didn’t have much time for blogging, photography, or any of my other creative hobbies, but I did spot the gorgeous roses at Whole Foods one day, hence this photo. We can always find a few moments to appreciate beauty, no matter how busy we are, right? Right.

* November: Another photo from the riverfront trail! We figured out that the trail can be used to ride to west Austin, to UT’s campus, and to downtown Austin. I think this photo is from a UT/downtown trip. In this photo, you can see some of the downtown buildings through the branches of this wooded part of the trail.

November was a great month. I was pretty busy with work for most of it, but tutoring slowed down during the week of Thanksgiving, and I had some much-needed time off. Paul and I celebrated my birthday with a long bike ride and a trip to downtown Austin for Anthropologie and fresh juice and snacks at Whole Foods. It was a low-key celebration with my love, and it was perfect.

* December: December was by far the hardest month of 2014. I was crazy-busy with work and worried sick about our house’s financial health. I got pretty worn down by all the stress, but about a week before Christmas, work slowed down, and I was able to calm down and recover from all of it. We had a fantastic party on New Year’s Eve as we said good-bye to 2014.

The photo above was taken from one of the bridges that crosses the river from downtown into south Austin. You know I can’t pass a pretty sunset without taking a photo of it, and this one was no exception. Austin is such a pretty city, with great views all around. I look forward to exploring the city more, hopefully on foot and on bike.

* * *

2014 was a banner year for me. I achieved a lot of goals and survived big challenges. 2015 might not be quite so exciting, but it might be even more rewarding. I’ll be sharing my 2015 goals soon. Until then…

Monday, January 5, 2015

Believe it or not, one of my biggest regrets of 2013 is that I didn’t do a “Year in Photographs” post. I loved doing it for 2012, despite the sadness that permeated that year for me. Curating these posts is a bit time-consuming, but it’s oh so satisfying to have these memories to look back upon and enjoy.

Without further ado, here is January-June of 2014, one photograph per month (plus narration from me, of course).

* January: In January, Paul and were lucky enough to visit Louisiana with our dear friends Amber and Jeremy. We had an amazing time! I think back on that trip and feel so very fortunate to have shared that time with some of my favorite people in one of the best cities in the world. In the photograph above, that’s Amber and Paul loving one of the trees in City Park.

Fun fact: we were in NOLA for several days and drank zero alcohol. That’s got to be some sort of tourist record!

* February: From what I remember, February was pretty quiet. I was settling into a new job, meeting new students for tutoring, and getting ready for a March half-marathon. Here’s a photo of Lucy, being her adorable self. Sharing my life with this kitty has been such a joy, every day.

*March: In March, I flew to Michigan for my sister’s bridal shower. March was a tough month for me: I was really anxious about money and the future, and I was grappling with the realization that despite my general dislike of change, I needed permission to change. I needed permission from myself to change.

But I like this photo: it’s the kitchen window that looks out into backyard at my brother’s house, and the art is homemade, of course. I like to think of it as a reminder that we can always open our eyes and enjoy the beauty of the place, the moment, wherever we may be.

(Also, it was a freezing cold winter, even in Texas! You can see the snow on the ground in that photo.)

* April: In April, I bounced back from my March gloom. April was busy in all the best ways! In this photo, Paul and I were at Lake Bryan with friends, out on a hike, when I asked someone to take our photograph. I have surprisingly few photos of the two of us (though our friend Jeremy aims to fix that—thank goodness for that man and his beautiful art). In this one, I especially like the way our arms and hands are entwined. It feels like a metaphor for the way our lives have become woven around one another. I feel very grateful for the life we are building together. Paul is a wonderful person, and our partnership is the foundation of everything I do.

* May: In May, my sister Theresa got married! Here’s a photo of the bridal party on the night of the rehearsal dinner. Everybody looks so pretty in their party dresses! Being part of Theresa’s wedding was really special to me. One of the most fun things was getting to know each of the other bridesmaids. We are all so different from each other, and yet Theresa’s personality is reflected in each friendship. It was so neat to see that.

* June: Wow, June was a big month for us. We signed a lease on a new place in Austin! Immediately after we did that, Paul and I went camping in Lost Maples, our favorite Texas campground and the site of this photo. It’s outrageously pretty there—it’s my idea of heaven, with its waterfalls, canyons, trees, and hiking trails. I just love it so much.

Sunday, January 4, 2015

I had the loveliest New Year’s Eve and Day. On New Year’s Eve, a bunch of our friends came over. We ate delicious snacks, had a few drinks, and cozied up for an evening of Cards Against Humanity and Bananagrams and counting down to the start of the new year. The next day, we had a lazy, rainy, stay-at-home-in-your-pajamas celebration, with burritos from Super Burrito and more Bananagrams. Austin has been chilly lately, and our house has been really cold too. So in the living room, we’ve had the fireplace and/or the space heater going, and we’ve dragged Courtney’s floor pillows into the room. The vibe is very cozy and warm, a space to share with your favorite people (some of whom happen to be my housemates).

It’s been a wonderful, slow winter break. I really needed it

My winter break ended abruptly on Friday, as I’ve had billable hours with students, lots of prep work, and a rocket launch on Saturday morning with some of the students at Acton Academy. We drove far north to a cornfield outside of Austin to launch the rockets that our students built earlier this year. Have you ever been to an model rocket launch? It was so much fun—I was surprised at how much fun I had out in that muddy, chilly field. It was so muddy that one of our students lost both his shoes in the mud, and a dad retrieved the launched rockets by strapping reusable grocery bags on his feet and clomping his way into the fields. We were able to do eight launches, and it was just amazing to see how high those little rockets were able to go. As they came back down to Earth, their little parachutes deployed, and they floated ever so gently into the mud. I loved being able to share that experience with Paul and our students.

In other news, my friend Emily fixed my hat! I’m so excited to be wearing it again.

And even though I’m sad that winter break is ending, I’m excited about some good stuff coming up soon. I’m working on a post about perfectionism for Austin Writing Shop, and it’s got me thinking about perfectionism versus the pursuit of excellence. I want to try my hand at making homemade tortillas. I’ve got paid work this week, which my wallet is happy about. Life is good.

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